Americas documents by Year:
Reporter denied access to Florida governor’s briefing on COVID-19
March 30, 2020 4:15 PM ET
Washington, D.C., March 30, 2020 -- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis should allow reporters to safely cover his news briefings, and not penalize journalists who seek to follow public health guidance on social distancing, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today....
Trust deficit: Guatemala's new president must overcome skepticism to improve press freedom
March 27, 2020 10:00 AM ET
With a new president in office, Guatemala has the opportunity to reverse years of declining press freedom after the country’s journalists endured obstruction, legal harassment, orchestrated online attacks, and threats of violence. To win back trust, the administration will need to make a strong commitment to transparency and provide enough...
Trust deficit: 'The goal was to silence me'
March 27, 2020 9:59 AM ET
Prensa Comunitaria knows first-hand the risks of covering environmental issues and powerful economic interests. In August 2017, authorities in the eastern Izabal department issued arrest warrants for seven individuals, including two of the news website’s indigenous journalists: Carlos Choc and Jerson Xitumul Morales....
Brazil restricts access to government information amid COVID-19 emergency
March 26, 2020 12:00 PM ET
Rio de Janeiro, March 26, 2020 -- Brazilian authorities should not use the coronavirus crisis as an excuse to restrict access to government information, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today....
Q&A: Covering the coronavirus outbreak in the Orthodox Jewish community
March 23, 2020 1:15 PM ET
Before the coronavirus outbreak, Laura E. Adkins edited opinion pieces for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, a syndicated nonprofit wire service that runs articles in Jewish publications. But as the virus has taken root in a number of Jewish communities in the United States and around the world, Adkins, who...
Venezuelan journalist arrested by special forces following coronavirus coverage
March 22, 2020 4:21 PM ET
Miami, March 22, 2020 — Venezuelan authorities must immediately release journalist Darvinson Rojas and ensure that the media can cover the coronavirus outbreak in the country without fear of retribution, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today....
Honduran government declares state of emergency, suspends right to free expression
March 18, 2020 2:00 PM ET
New York, March 18, 2020 -- Honduran authorities must immediately lift newly imposed restrictions on free expression and let members of the press cover the news freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today....
Venezuelan authorities arrest, threaten journalists reporting on COVID-19
March 18, 2020 11:35 AM ET
On March 13, 2020, police in the Venezuelan city of Los Teques arrested Jesús Enrique Torres and Jesús Manuel Castillo, hosts of a news program on local privately owned radio broadcaster La Cima, after they posted a video to Facebook, where they sometimes publish their reporting, about alleged coronavirus...
CPJ calls on Canadian police to allow journalists to freely cover matters of public interest
March 16, 2020 4:33 PM ET
CPJ writes to the commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to express concern at the treatment of journalists covering protests against the construction of a gas pipeline through Wet’suwet’en territory, and to urge that the RCMP allow them to do their job and report freely on matters of public interest.
Nicaraguan journalist Emiliano Chamorro faces police harassment and surveillance
March 11, 2020 9:40 AM ET
Beginning in 2019, Nicaraguan National Police officers have surveilled and harassed Emiliano Chamorro, director of the digital news outlet El Portavoz Ciudadano and a former reporter at the daily La Prensa, and his family, according to the journalist, who spoke to CPJ in a phone interview....